Compactness, and some nostalgia, sure drive me toward the flathead layout. Even though I was born in early-90's I like some old stuff. But it still seems to be a sensible for some equipment which is either operated under severe inclination variations such as some lawn and garden equipment, aircraft, and eventually agricultural machinery when the usage of gaseous fuels is viable.

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Originally Posted by freebeard

Fords ran hot because they didn't always get all the casting sand out of the water jacket.

It was just one of the reasons why it ran too hot. Cadillac V8 flatheads and many inline flatheads from other manufacturers were less prone to overheating than the Ford V8, and having the exhaust running adjacent to the intake instead of through the block was a reason for that. BTW that 12-cyl boxer flathead is awesome.

Countless four stroke lawnmower engines have been destroyed by oil starvation on inclines.

Blame it on the splash lube.

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I don't think we'll see direct injection lawnmowers anytime soon.

Though direct injection wouldn't become available in lawnmowers so soon, it was the only way to keep 2-stroke engines competitive in emissions-regulated markets for other applications such as outboard motors.